Cocaine kingpin's sidekick locked up

THE trusted sidekick of a North East cocaine Mr Big has joined him behind bars.

- By ROB KENNEDY

Harry Monteith was one of Stephen Faetz’s loyal lieutenants in a huge plot to flood the region with the Class A drugs.

Faetz, of Lansdowne Terrace West, North Shields was previously jailed for 26 years for his leading role in a conspiracy to supply cocaine that was brought down when the EncroChat messaging network was infiltrated by law enforcement officers in France.

Now Monteith, 45, of Lytham Place, Walker, Newcastle, has been jailed for seven years and three months for conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis.

Newcastle Crown Court heard he played a role in a number of specific transactions in which cash and drugs were collected and distributed in this area.

Sentencing him, Judge Julie Clemitison said: “You were working for Stephen Faetz, who was a relatively top tier drug trafficker in this region, involved in the distribution of large quantities of high purity cocaine and cannabis resin and the production of herbal cannabis on a commercial scale.

“Faetz has been sentenced for conspiracy to supply cocaine.